All of our Real Christmas trees are sustainably grown in the UK and grown specially for sale at Christmas. When they are cut, they are between 5-10 years old - and at least one tree is planted to replace each one.
- We grow all our Norway Spruce Real Christmas trees to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards
- All other trees are grown in UK plantations, which we inspect for their sustainable and environmental standards
- We sell three main species of tree:
- Spruce - Norway spruce, which is regarded as the most traditional tree. A 4-foot tree contains some 150,000 needles
- Pine; Scots pine and lodgepole pine have soft foliage and hold needles well
- Fir; Noble fir and Nordmann fir hold needles very well and are now among our biggest sellers.
- Around 6 million trees are sold in Britain each year, of which the Forestry Commission supplies 100,000.
- Last year we planted 150,000 Real Christmas trees. About half were Noble fir, which is the best Christmas tree for holding its needles.
- We manage Britain’s two biggest Christmas tree outlets. These are Cannock Chase in Staffordshire and Delamere Forest, Cheshire.
- Growing times for our Real Christmas trees are: Pine (5 years); Spruce (7 years); Noble Fir (10 years).
- More than 90 percent of families put up a Christmas tree.
- The custom of putting up a decorated fir tree in your home at Christmas began in Germany in the 17th century.
- Prince Albert made Christmas trees popular in Britain, when he introduced them to England from Germany. The Prince wrote in 1847 that his children should “delight in the Christmas tree”. He also sought to make it a tradition in Britain and presented many trees to schools ands army barracks.
- Between 100-150 million families in Europe will put up a real Christmas tree.